Kendall Smith

Kendall Smith has been working professionally for the past 30 years both as a designer for the stage and as a consultant for numerous theatre projects.

He has designed for concerts, dance, musicals and opera throughout his career.  He lit Andrea Boccelli’s premier US opera performance and has worked with Luciano Pavarotti, Denyce Graves and Ruth Ann Swenson.  As the Resident Lighting Designer for Michigan Opera since 1989 he has lit over 65 productions.  Regional Opera companies include Florida Grand Opera, Virginia Opera, San Diego Opera, Fort Worth Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas City.  He has assisted on Broadway with Tharon Musser, one of the pioneers in the business.  His work has been seen at many regional theatres including Oregon Shakespeare, Indiana Repertory, Pioneer Theatre Company and North Shore Music Theatre. Upcoming productions include Three Decembers for Kentucky Opera, Red for Geva Theatre and The Magic Flute for Michigan Opera.

 As a consultant he has worked with Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell, Massachusetts redesigning the lighting system for a 300 seat thrust theatre.  His design work at Merrimack also earned him the Paul Tsongas Arts Achievement award.  His next major project was his involvement with Michigan Opera Theatre’s renovation of the Detroit Opera House, a 2,800 seat theatre restored to circa 1925.  His latest project was the Miami Performing Arts Center, as a consultant for Miami Opera, advising them on lighting requirements, system and equipment selections.

Kendall Smith’s previous production for the RNZB was Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg’s Giselle (2012), which has subsequently been seen in China and the USA and will tour to the UK and Italy in 2015.